Wednesday, February 23, 2011

My day has held a lot of stress for me. I had to meet with my financial advisor to figure out how I will survive on my pittance of a pension for the rest of my life. He thinks he can do something for me, but I have been hit hard by our tax man. It seems I paid too much into my RRSPs and now I have to pay them back- the tax that is. This is going to take a huge chunk out of my new kitchen fund.

Then my DD phoned me to tell me that she was in a car accident on her way to work this morning. She is okay, but the car may not be. The couple that ran into the side of her car are okay too. Can't blame this on our winter. We had the most beautiful day today. The sun was shining and the temperature was not too bad. There was no ice or snow on the roads. DD thinks it was her fault.

I have been waiting for the guy from Home Depot to call me regarding my kitchen cabinets. We are supposed to okay the deal and order them tonight. Then the destruction work will begin. I'm dreading that. Just more stress.

I decided to make my own pattern for the paper pieced camel on the Block Party this week. I am not very happy with the way he turned out. But maybe amongst many other blocks in a child's quilt he will look okay.

And something I told myself I wouldn't do.... I fell for the cuteness of the Henrietta BOM. (You can find it on my sidebar) I decided to machine applique the blocks so that they would not take too long to make. I still have to finish them.

I have no pictures of my hexagon quilt. I misplaced one of the fabrics and spent most of my day looking for it. The good part is, I got my sewing room tidied up. And I found the missing fabric, so I will have lots to work on this evening, while I stay up late to watch 'Off the Map' at 10:00pm.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Gosh! I just realized that I haven't posted for a whole week. It went by quickly, but I think that was because I had my Bernina back! It's all fixed and the tension is perfect. It just hums when I sew. I love my machine!

Let me first show you the fabrics I got this month from the Bargain Club at Sew Sisters. These look like Japanese fabrics, but they are by Northcott. Beautiful cottons in beautiful colours. I love the one with the bird on it. Don't you?

And here are the fabrics I received in January from the Bargain Club at Sew Sisters. Pretty pastels. Think a baby quilt is in my future. No time to start it now though. I have too many quilts to finish first.

So... having said that... here is a project I started last week. I know, I know! I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't help myself. It's a Trip Around the World pattern. I cut the fabrics last week, but I didn't dare start to sew the strips together because my old machine does not do accurate 1/4 inch seam allowances. This is going to have to be a WIP because I can't do much more than a few strips per day. But I love how it is turning out. I'll show you more as my work progresses.

And last, but not least is my hexagon Wannabee Quilt. In order for the end sections to fit, I have to add another row of hexies to the inside section. So that is what I am doing now. There are a lot of these little pink hexies to sew on. It will take me awhile before I have this part done.

But Felix doesn't mind how much is done or not done. He just loves a Quilt in Progress!

Another thing that is keeping me from sewing is my new kitchen. Well, it hasn't actually been installed yet, but I have picked out the cabinets and the colour of the counter. I have also bought a new fridge - a nice stainless steel one. It will be delivered in the beginning of March. I'll show you photos when I actually have something to show. This past week the contractor came and built me a kitchen in my basement. We had always intended to have a kitchen down there. It is part of a one-bedroom apartment we built. I have been using the kitchen part of it as my stained glass studio. So even if we never rent it out, I will now have a beautiful full kitchen in my studio, with a sink, cupboards and a stove and fridge. We are still waiting for the upper cabinets because they were out of stock. As soon as they are installed I will post a photo. The kitchen downstairs will also serve as my temporary kitchen while the main kitchen is installed. I'll keep you posted.

Friday, February 11, 2011

I posted this block on the Friday Block Party this morning. Since I hadn't tried it out before I posted it, I thought I would give it a try this morning. I don't know what I did wrong. It may just be my machine. This old Jeans Machine does not do accurate 1/4in. seams. The pattern called for templates - which I hate! So I measured the templates and cut my fabric accordingly. The squares are 1 7/8in. The triangles were cut larger and then trimmed when the center of the block was complete. I had to make the strips around the heart larger than stated in the pattern. My block just wasn't big enough. Then I cut the block down to 10 1/2in. square.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

We have beautiful sunshine today. But it is extremely cold. With the wind it feels like -25C. It kind of takes your breath away. I just stuck my head out for a moment to throw some peanuts to the squirrels. Oscar thought he wanted to go out, but he changed his mind once he got to the door and felt the cold. Smart cat. And smart me too! I decided to make this an indoor, sewing day.

But my sewing machine is still at the shop. It has been serviced, but I can't pick it up until Saturday. So for now I have been playing with my fabric. I have had to use my old Jeans Machine (White). The seam allowances are not very accurate and it feels like driving an old truck instead of a quiet BMW. But it was okay for making these string hearts. I think I will make a small wall hanging using them. I'll finish it on Saturday when I get my machine back. I also made a mug rug with one of the blocks. I have sandwiched it, but will wait for my Bernina to finish it.

And last, but certainly not least, is my chicken block for this week's Block Party. I designed a paper piecing pattern for it. Then I added the strips on the side. The chicken part measures about 6 inches square. This will also be finished next week.

Saturday, February 05, 2011

I just had to make a couple of these scrappy string heart blocks. They are so quick and easy and they only use scraps. I found them on Block Lotto and just couldn't resist them. I experimented with two blocks, but I am sure I will make more of them. But not this weekend because I will be without my sewing machine. It has to go in for a tune-up, so I will have lots of time to work on my hexies. Have a great weekend!

Friday, February 04, 2011

I have not been working on my UFOs as I had promised myself. I have just been playing with my fabric. This is not a good thing because I really have to get out of this rut and actually do some real quilting. I did finish my February block of the Birdie Stitches BOM. (see my side bar) It's cute, but it's not a finished quilt. (sigh)

I also made this mug rug using a cat pattern I had downloaded somewhere a long, long time ago. It's kind of cute, but it also is not a finished UFO! This week's block on the Friday Block Party is a cute, fat chicken. I may have to make another mug rug, but not before I finish something else.

So now I am going to tidy up my sewing room and look for a UFO quilt that I can work on this month.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

I made many hexies this week! And finished another section of the Wannabe quilt. I have five more of these units to make. We are supposed to be having the worst blizzard of this winter. But if you ask me it's been blown way out of proportion. I don't see that much snow. Perhaps it is worse out in the real world and not what I see from my window.

Flights have been cancelled at the airport. Schools are closed. The Toronto District School Board actually closed their schools today. Do you believe that? This is unheard of! I phoned my daughter at 6:30am to let her know. She was ecstatic. She told me she was going to put her jammies back on and work on her report cards. Roads have been closed and lots of other things cancelled. It has stopped snowing now, but it looks bright outside, kind of like the sun is trying to come out.

And speaking of sunshine and shadows. Our resident rodent, Wiarton Willy predicted an early spring. He could not see his shadow. They had to have the event inside a tent because of the weather - a first in over 50 years. But if you ask me, no ground hog in his right mind would venture out of his burrow on a day like this and try to scratch his way out of the snow! I predict spring will arrive as it normally does, on the spring equinox.

About Me

I became a quilter purely by accident. I had wanted to sign up for a woodworking class, but it was full. So the only other class I could sign up for was a quilting course. I was not happy at first, but I fell in love with this craft! It is passion, history, creativity! I love it and I want to share it with the world.